Thursday, April 20, 2000 | 10:03 a.m.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Firefighters mopped up 21 wind-fed blazes that blackened about 26,000 acres in New Mexico and Colorado, hoping to clear the decks for any problems that might arise from gusts hitting the embers.
Eighteen were in New Mexico, driven by erratic winds from a spring storm. They forced the evacuation of several homes south of Albuquerque and charred more than 5,800 acres. Three Colorado fires burned 20,000 acres Tuesday, firefighters said.
Two mobile homes burned - in Pena Blanca, near Cochiti Pueblo along the Rio Grande southwest of Santa Fe, and near Estancia, east of Albuquerque. Several barns and sheds also burned along the Rio Grande. People were back home Wednesday.
"It looks like a moonscape scene, totally burned out," Valencia County Fire Marshal John Cherry said Wednesday of five riverside fires that burned 300 acres south of Albuquerque. "We still have some hot spots."
The storm that fanned the flames originated in California, which got a good soaking, but then it veered north of New Mexico as it moved east.
"We got the wind, but we didn't get any moisture with it," National Weather Service meteorologist Kurt Van Speybroeck said, adding there's still no precipitation in the forecast.
Winds were expected to weaken today. Meanwhile, a tense fire watch was under way in both wind-battered states.
Drought was also a factor, at least in New Mexico, said Mike Apicello, spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. He said indices show drought in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Precipitation and snowpack are below normal, Apicello said.
"You have the dry fuels, and all you need is ignition," he said.
None of the New Mexico fires was sparked by lightning. That left human causes - careless, accidental or otherwise. Valencia County sheriff's Sgt. M.D. Lujan said deputies were investigating an arson connection in the five Rio Grande bosque blazes 30 miles south of Albuquerque. The state Division of Forestry will lead the investigation, agency spokeswoman Terri Wildermuth said.
If arson were the cause, offenders could face stiff criminal penalties, including prison, because firefighters and homeowners were at risk, Wildermuth said.
In Colorado, a 14,000-acre fire burned a 20-mile swath across the eastern Colorado plains in Kiowa County, a 5,200-acre fire hit the Great Sand Dunes National Monument in southern Colorado and an 800-acre blaze, sparked by downed power lines, was battled at a Fort Carson Army training ground near Colorado Springs.
A vacant building and an amphitheater were destroyed near the dunes, and at least 30 visitors were evacuated from the park.
Residents of six Kiowa County homes were advised to flee, but actual evacuations weren't confirmed.
In New Mexico, fires ranged from 15 acres at San Antonio, near the federal bird sanctuary at Bosque del Apache south of Socorro, to the 2,500-acre Brantley Fire 10 miles north of Carlsbad in the southeastern corner of the state.
At La Joya, north of Socorro, several homes were threatened by a 2,000-acre fire Tuesday, and evacuations were ordered. La Joya resident Tom Derting said flames got within 300 yards of his house, choking the place with smoke as embers floated down on U.S. 60, but he didn't evacuate.
"We still have too much grass around here," Derting said, "too many trees. All our houses are too close together."
In the Lincoln County ranching community of Picacho, a 500-acre grass fire flared Tuesday. No homes were threatened.
Closer to Albuquerque, near the riverside communities of Belen, Los Lunas, Los Chavez and Tome, dozens of homes were in the path of flames, but none burned. Horses were evacuated from ranches and farms. No specific numbers of evacuations were tallied.
About 50 to 60 firefighters expected to stay on the Tome area blazes through today, Cherry said.
Winds prevented helicopters from dropping water on the fires Tuesday, but Wildermuth said the winds subsided enough Wednesday that the choppers could take off safely.
"Things are basically looking good on all of these fires," she said.
But Cherry said fire crews remain on alert.
Van Speybroeck said winds would die down to 10-15 mph overnight and range around 10 to 20 mph today - "pretty normal." That compared with the estimated 50 mph winds that prevailed Tuesday, Cherry said.
Tuesday's storm/wind pattern was a classic "red flag" fire situation, Van Speybroeck said. He compared the fires to "some of those canyon fires they have out in California."
California remained soggy Wednesday from rainstorms earlier this week. The state went through a spate of early fires two weeks ago. So far this year, there have been 664 wildfires in the Golden State. The average by this date is 548 fires. But acreage burned so far this year is about one-third the average.
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